-Police officer allegedly assaulted during confrontation-

OSOYOOS TIMES-May 28, 2008-

By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times

Three men were arrested by Osoyoos RCMP after a trio of transients allegedly ran amok on Osoyoos's Main Street on the afternoon of May 21.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said police received a call just after noon from an employee at the BC Liquor Store reporting that three extremely intoxicated men had been harassing customers in the parking lot by aggressively panhandling.
When employees at the store had refused the men service, the men threatened the workers and began yelling and swearing, Moskaluk said.
When police arrived at the scene, the men were gone.
However, police received a second call from a Main Street business-owner just minutes later who reported that the trio had moved on to Shoppers Drug Mart.
They were causing a fiasco, with the two younger ones walking around with boxes on their heads, Moskaluk said.
They were yelling and swearing and eating food out of garbage cans.rnHe said two of the men are in their 20s and the other man is in his 50s.
Once again, when police arrived on the scene, the men had fled.
Moskaluk said officers talked to a group of transients who were still in the area.
He said they were very helpful, apologizing for the behaviour of the troublesome threesome and telling police the trio had been ostracized and excluded from their group.
A third phone call to police came from the 7-Eleven convenience store on Main Street, where it was reported that two of the men were eating rotten food out of a dumpster.
When an employee had asked them to stop, Moskaluk said the men became irritated and reportedly assaulted one employee.
Moskaluk said the police located the three a short time later in the food court at the Buy-Low grocery store.
They displayed symptoms of advanced intoxication, he said. They were obscene and profane.
When officers attempted to arrest the men for public drunkenness, Moskaluk said they became combative and that one officer was assaulted.
When the three were detained, Moskaluk said the man in his 50s was charged with assaulting a police officer while the other two were charged with obstructing a police officer.
The three were released and are supposed to appear in court at a later date.
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